Waco-Bound Hoos Shining in Postseason

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The first University of Virginia men’s tennis player to finish his singles match Saturday was freshman Keegan Rice. He won in straight sets at No. 3 singles to give No. 7 seed UVA a 2-0 lead over No. 10 seed Arizona in their NCAA tournament’s third round.

Then came another challenge for Rice, a Canadian who’s from Regina, the provincial capital of Saskatchewan.

“I think for all tennis players, it’s way more nerve-wracking to be watching than playing, because you have no control,” Rice said. “I think that’s what lots of tennis players love about the sport, that you have control of your match, but now in this team atmosphere and team environment, you play your match, you do your work, and you focus on yourself when you’re on court, and then once you’re off court you have to pour all of your energy into your teammates, who you love.”

On a virtually cloudless afternoon at the Virginia Tennis Facility, graduate student James Hopper won at No. 4 singles to extend the Wahoos’ lead to 3-0, but the Wildcats rallied for victories at Nos. 1 and 5. For the Hoos to eliminate Arizona, they would need another win, from sophomore Dylan Dietrich at No. 2 or junior Mans Dahlberg at No. 6.

Dietrich reached the finish line first, rallying to defeat Jay Friend in three sets Saturday, but Dahlberg might well have clinched the victory for Virginia had his teammate lost. Dahlberg was leading Casper Christensen 5-3 in the third set when Dietrich completed his comeback against Friend.

“Towards the end I started to feel better,” UVA head coach Andres Pedroso said, “but these matches can flip on us in a heartbeat. They can flip on anything, on one point, so you’re never really totally secure”

Friend, who’s ranked No. 6 nationally, led 5-2 in the third and final set. Dietrich, unfazed, won five straight games to send the Hoos to the NCAA quarterfinals for the 18^th time in the past 20 tournaments.

Dietrich, who dropped the first set 6-1, needed a tiebreaker to win the second. Late in that set, he said, he noticed Friend was struggling on key points. “I basically told myself that, OK, he failed in the second set at closing me out, so let’s just make it as tough as possible for him.”

Also, said Dietrich, who’s from Zurich, Switzerland, “I felt like maybe physically I was a little fitter than him. I was a little bit more patient because of that, and in the end that helped me.”

Rice and the other Cavaliers who weren’t still playing cheered on Dietrich, who’s ranked No. 32 in singles, as he gained momentum against Friend.

“I just saw great energy from him,” Rice said, “and every single point he made his opponent work and that really paid off in the long run.”

Pedroso said: “Just an incredible mental effort by Dylan, and it’s what we talk about all year long. It’s just about playing complete matches and not letting the score faze you or how well the other guy’s playing.”

Next up for Virginia (23-7), which has won two NCAA titles under Pedroso, is a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed TCU (25-3). They’ll meet Friday in Waco, Texas, at Baylor University’s Hurd Tennis Center.

“We just start over,” Pedroso said. “Every single match in this tournament you have to start over, and it’s almost like a new season once you get to Waco, and every match is 50/50. Everyone’s gonna be really well prepared. Everyone’s probably going to be a little beat up and everyone’s got their issues.”

He smiled. “I’ve learned not to underestimate the dysfunction in the locker room—in the other locker room. And so, yeah, it’s an exciting event and it’s what we play for. And we’ve been pretty good at it over the years.”

In all, the program has won six NCAA titles, the most recent coming in 2023. A year ago, in Stillwater, Okla., UVA lost to ACC rival Wake Forest in the NCAA quarterfinals.

“Last year was brutal,” Dietrich said. “It was so close but yet so far.”

It’s important, he added, to take in the atmosphere and savor playing on that stage. “It’s a magical time for everyone on the team. The feeling that it can be over at any moment … it gives you a certain adrenaline kick, I would say. Just enjoy it. You only get four chances [as a college player]. One is already over, so this is the second one.”

Big 12 champion Arizona, playing in the Sweet Sixteen for the third straight season, finished with a 26-5 record. At this stage of the NCAA tournament, Pedroso said, “matches are so close. There’s so much parity. There’s so many coaches that are trying so hard. The resources have only expanded. College tennis has attracted better and better players as the years have gone on. So the teams are better and better as well.”

In a dual match between two teams with comparable talent, the doubles point can be pivotal, and so it was Saturday at the Boar’s Head Resort.

“We knew that from the beginning,” Pedroso said, “and I really emphasized to the guys in the locker room to come out the right way. And if we come out the right way, we might surprise them a little bit. Because [the Wildcats are] known for being loud and they’re known for really playing with a lot of emotion and I don’t think we are, so I said, ‘Guys, let’s show them that we can be a little bit like that too,’ and I think it helped us.”

At No. 1 doubles, Dahlberg and Dietrich won 6-3. Freshmen Roy Horovitz and Rafael Jódar then won at No. 3 to secure the doubles point for the Cavaliers. Throughout the afternoon, UVA fans were in full voice, and their support proved crucial, Dietrich said.

“I’ve never seen Boar’s Head that packed,” he said. “It was full, and it definitely helps, especially when emotions are running high and when you’re fired up. To just have the full support from the crowd behind you is special.”

Pedroso went into the weekend hoping both Cavalier teams would move on to Waco. The seventh-seeded Virginia women, however, lost 4-0 to No. 10 seed Tennessee on Friday evening at the Boar’s Head.

The Hoos finished 22-6. The Lady Volunteers “came out ready to go in doubles and we just didn’t play our best,” UVA head coach Sara O’Leary said. “I think they put us on our heels a little bit, and it was tough for us to just dig our heels in and get back in that match really at any point. I think we’re gonna learn a lot from this and reflect on this.”

Pedroso lauded the efforts of O’Leary, associate head coach Gina Suarez-Malaguti and assistant coach Carlos Benatzy.

“I can’t say enough about how much time, thought and effort they pour into those young ladies, and how they transform them over four years and the impact they have in their lives,” Pedroso said. “They’re so close to making a deep run at the NCAA tournament, and it’s definitely going to happen, because they’re doing things the right way and with so much heart and passion that that program is going to continue to rise.

“This year they accomplished a steppingstone that they hadn’t in the past. They became the No. 1 team in the country for a week. And so little by little, UVA women’s tennis is creeping up on the upper echelon of college tennis, and I’m telling you, they’re only going to keep rising. That culture is too good and those coaches are too invested, and I’m honored and humbled to be able to work side by side with them every single day. And definitely both programs make each other better.”

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